With a triadic perspective, this autoethnographic narrative explores the temporal, situated nature of interactions between the author as an adoptee with her adult adopted children as well as those between herself and her birth father and mother. The epiphanic adoptive family narratives that are foregrounded seek to deepen and challenge understanding of how kinship affinities are experienced. The autoethnographic narratives are written in a critical, evocative style which is valuable for two reasons. Firstly, the processes of reflexive self-introspection, self-observation and dialogue with relational others have established a critical connection between recognising and responding to kinship affinities and personal growth. Secondly, lying at the intersection of the self and other this narrative contributes to deepening insights around epistemic in/justice in adoptive kinship. This book will be of interest to educators and scholars of adoption in offering an insider perspective on unique family relationships as well as how the author undertakes critical evocative autoethnography. Adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents will also find the narratives in Part II of this book of particular interest in informing an understanding of kin relationships and how these may be subject to change over time.

Evelyn Robinson, OAM, has written four books about adoption separation and reunion. This is her first book. What becomes of women who are separated from their children by adoption? Why do so many adopted people feel such a strong desire to seek out their families of origin? In what ways are families with adopted children different from other families? This book by Evelyn Robinson provides the answers to these questions and many others.'Adoption and Loss - The Hidden Grief' was first published in 2000. A revised edition was published in 2003 and the 21st Century edition was published in 2018.

This book explains the role of separation trauma in the life of adoptees and birth mothers and how that trauma affects the neurological system. It demonstrates how the inner, fearful child may be running the lives of adoptees. It shows how the meaning we give to events determines our beliefs and how those beliefs control our feelings, attitudes and behavior. It gives guidelines for discovering the authentic self and for becoming accountable for our impact on others.

Originally published in 1993, this classic piece of literature on adoption has revolutionised the way people think about adopted children. Nancy Verrier examines the life-long consequences of the 'primal wound' - the wound that is caused when a child is separated from its mother - for adopted people. Her argument is supported by thorough research in pre- and perinatal psychology, attachment, bonding and the effects of loss.

A passionate love affair between high school sweethearts creates an accidental pregnancy during a sultry night on the shore of Lake Michigan. Rebecca's unforgiving parents banish her to an unwed mother's home where she secretly gives birth to a baby girl. Her daughter Judy is placed in the loving care of foster parents before being callously given to Mario and Rosella Romano for adoption on her first birthday. Reoccurring visions and fantasies of her birthmother plague Judy's consciousness for three decades until a life-changing passage into adulthood causes her to question why she was abandoned. What begins as a simple investigation into her medical and ancestral history slowly evolves into a passionate quest to discover her roots. Through good timing, perseverance, and a few small miracles, Judy eventually solves the mystery of her origins. But will the woman she has been seeking welcome Judy back into her life? About the Authors Judith and Martin Land live in Colorado and Arizona. They told the entire story of Judith Land's adoption, from her birth through adulthood, to provide the reader with unique insights into the mind of an adoptee at various stages of her life.

Bestselling author Harriet Lerner focuses on the challenge and the importance of being able to express one's "authentic voice" in intimate relationships. The key problem in relationships, particularly over time, is that people begin to lose their voice. Despite decades of assertiveness training and lots of good advice about communicating with clarity, timing, and tact, women and men find that their greatest complaints in marriage and other intimate relationships are that they are not being heard, that they cannot affect the other person, that fights go nowhere, that conflict brings only pain. Although an intimate, long-term relationship offers the greatest possibilities for knowing the other person and being known, these relationships are also fertile ground for silence and frustration when it comes to articulating a true self. And yet giving voice to this self is at the center of having both a relationship and a self. Much as she did in THE MOTHER DANCE, Lerner will approach this rich subject with tales from her personal life and clinical work, inspiring and teaching readers to speak their own truths to the most important people in their lives.

The adopted daughter of loving parents, Zara Phillips felt out of place since childhood. Although cherished, she grew up deeply insecure and alone, consumed by a void she found impossible to fill. Isolation led to alienation, until her talent brought her to the center of the heady London rock ‘n’ roll scene of the 1980s. Zara became lost in a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and destructive relationships. An intense search for the truth of her birth led to an awakening and then to recovery. Zara’s activism for adoptee rights springs from a very personal passion. In the end, it was Zara’s experience of becoming a mother that revealed what being adopted really meant. For the first time, she gained deep understanding and compassion for both her birth mother and her adoptive mother and was able to start the healing process. Mother Me bravely illuminates the lifelong impact of adoption on every member of the adoption triad—adoptee, birth mother and adoptive mother—as well as the families of each. The tale of Zara’s search for her birth mother and her path to recovery is riveting, as are the stories of many people sharing her past.

This book analyses the key issues affecting same-sex families in Ireland and beyond today: marriage; formalised and non-formalised same-sex relationships outside of marriage; parental rights for same-sex couples with donor-conceived or surrogate-born children; and the protections afforded to same-sex families under European human rights law. It critically examines the Irish and Australian citizen-led approaches to achieving marriage equality, which made Ireland and Australia the first and second countries in the world, respectively, to extend the institution of marriage to same-sex couples on foot of a popular vote. It analyses the pragmatic and symbolic effects of civil partnership, which was the premier means of formalising same-sex unions in Ireland. Ireland's hurried 'divorce' from civil partnership in the aftermath of marriage equality is examined in light of evidence from the U.K. indicating that this mode of relationship recognition remains popular with both same-sex and opposite-sex couples in that jurisdiction. The book goes on to consider the legal position of same-sex couples who are parenting children born via assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) like donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) and surrogacy. Finally, it looks at the impact (or lack thereof) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as regards the protection of same-sex relationships, marriage and parental rights for same-sex couples. It does this to determine what is required of Ireland and other states party to the ECHR to comply with European human rights obligations when it comes to legally recognising couples, and parents, of the same sex. Shortlisted for the 2024 SLS Margaret Brazier Prize for Outstanding Mid-Career Scholarship.

This book introduces the notion of culinary capital to investigate socialisation and school mealtime experiences in an academy school based in the UK. Drawing on interviews collated from children, teachers and staff within the school, the text sheds light on food insecurity in society and schools as being major issue in educational policy. The book examines schools as a microcosm for society with school food space being the playground for socialisation. It shows how forms of culinary capital can be extended in the school dining hall where social space is negotiated with notions of inclusion and exclusion during mealtime. The book uses gender, class and race to understand the school dining hall as a space where culinary capital can be exchanged and learnt. Thorough research accompanied by ethnographic visuals, field notes and observations, it also explores the sensory impact of school gardens. As such the book will be of interest to students, teachers, school leaders, educators and policy makers in the fields of Education, Sociology, Social Policy and Food Studies.

This book engages with the concept of age-friendly environments, adopting multi-perspectivity to demonstrate how age-friendly environments can contribute to shifting how we think, feel and act toward issues of age and ageing and operate as a vehicle to improve understandings of ageism. Drawing from traditionally distinct fields, the text demonstrates theoretical and applied dimensions of the age-friendly global agenda, with several chapters discussing topics that have to date been underrepresented in age-friendly scholarship, including education, health and justice systems. The case studies encourage critical engagement with the issue of ageism in age-friendly scholarship. It presents a clear understanding of the inequalities, challenges and opportunities of ageing and of the ways international, regional, national and sub-national commitments in health, development and human rights, and are further impacted by, ageing through designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programmes. The essays utilise a critical and interdisciplinary dialogue to enhance discussion of the age-friendly environment agenda through the inclusion of age-friendly perspectives in addition to its processes and destinations in an ageing society. The book serves as a catalyst to stimulate research, policy and public interest in the physical, social and regulatory environments in which we age and the consequent impact upon health and well-being. It will be of interest to professors, graduate students and undergraduate students in policy, sociology, health, planning and gerontology. It is also recommended reading for policy makers, politicians, think tanks and lobbyists, who are concerned with age all-age-inclusiveness.